Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

As a child, I remember being told about ‘bunny ears’ - a fascinating plant growing wild at home that looked like a whorl of just those, velvety, soft and with a sweet, pungent odour a little bit like mint. Little did I know at the time that it was simple the first year’s growth of another common plant, Mullein. Mullein are the sentinels of the field edge. They were common along roadsides and verges where I grew up in Ontario, but it wasn’t until I was studying for my role as interpreter in the Medicinal Garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens that I began to appreciate its interesting history of use. It has been used to help treat various ailments throughout recorded history, in some cases still in use and in some cases not: mullein leaf, smoked, was once recommended as a treatment for tuberculosis! Mullein also has several applications in bushcraft, though typically mullein is not really seen as an edible.

What it looks like

Look for mullein year round, but flowering is in late summer and autumn. Mullein is a biennial herb, and in its first year appears as a whorl of furry, thick, silvery-green leaves roughly hand-length, to foot-long. In its second year it sends up a flower spike that can be up to 2m tall. The flowers, yellow and five-petaled, crowd densely around the the top and most of the length of the spike, blossoming from the tip downward. The spike may divide into two or three spikes, and it may have smaller side-spikes emerging from near the base of the main spike. These dry brown and can remain standing for some time.

Uses

Mullein flowers and leaves are infused to make a tea to treat chesty, dry or persistent coughs and sore throats, headaches and other aches and pains. The flowers have traditionally been infused in oil to treat earache (though, warmed oil by itself will usefully soften impacted earwax, which is often the cause of earache). The leaves can be added to steaming water and used as an inhalation. The leaves make excellent toilet paper and larger ones may be used as a wrapping for small or delicate objects, or to wrap around a hot metal cooking vessel just off the fire, to avoid burning yourself. Mullein leaves have been used as field dressings - bandages - having antibacterial properties. The leaves have also been used to pad out shoes and to treat aching feet. Additionally, the dried flower stalks can be used as a torch, and it makes a good source of kindling.